Acts 22:23

κραυγαζόντων δὲ (τε, Weiss, Wendt, W.H [369]), only here in Acts (cf. Luke 4:41, but doubtful: W.H [370] read κράζοντα), six times in St. John, and four times in his narrative of the Passion of the cries of the Jewish multitude, cf. especially Acts 19:15, so too in Esther 3:13; Esther 3:13, in classical Greek rare (Dem.), used by Epict., Diss., iii., 4, 4, of the shouts in the theatres. ῥιπτ. τὰ ἱμἁτια : not throwing off their garments as if preparing to stone Paul (for which Zöckler compares Acts 7:58, and see Plato, Rep., 474 A), for the fact that the Apostle was in the custody of the Romans would have prevented any such purpose. The verb may be used as a frequentative, ῥιπτεῖν, jactare, ῥίπτειν, jacere, while some of the old grammarians associate with it a suggestion of earnestness or effort, others of contempt, Grimm-Thayer, sub v. (for the form in LXX cf. Dan., Theod., ix., 18, 20). The word here rather means “tossing about their garments,” a manifestation of excitement and uncontrollable rage, cf. Ovid, Am., iii., 2, 74, and also instances in Wetstein, cf. Chrys., who explains ῥιπτάζοντες, ἐκτινάσσοντες. Dean Farrar refers to Pal. Expln. Fund, 1879, p, 77, for instances of the sudden excitability of Oriental crowds, and for similar illustrations see Hackett, in loco. κονιορτὸν βαλλ.: best taken as another sign of the same rage and fury, a similar demonstration; this is preferable to the supposition that they threw dust into the air to signify that they would throw stones if they could. εἰς τὸν ἀέρα seems to imply the interpretation adopted; the dust could scarcely have been aimed at Paul, for he was out of reach; but see 2 Samuel 16:13.

[369] Westcott and Hort's The New Testament in Greek: Critical Text and Notes.

[370] Westcott and Hort's The New Testament in Greek: Critical Text and Notes.